Vacation Days
by KoibitoAnime
Summary: Piper, Jason, Leo, Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, and Percy head to Miami for Spring Break! Jealousy and Romance are in the air! But chaos ripples in the group when three of the demigods go missing! Who are they? Can they be saved in time? DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE PERCY JACKSON SERIES.
1. Chapter 1

**Piper POV**

My eyes fluttered opened. The sun shined into the room imbetween the cracks of the blinds. My sisters from the Aphrodite cabin were buzzing around the rooming showering, putting on makeup, and pondering on which outfit was more "stylish." I groan and hop out of bed. Still exhausted from the long night of packing I drag my feet to the showers, towel in hand.

The warm water hits my cool skin giving me goose bumps. I sigh at the long day ahead of me.

_Flashback from One Week earlier…_

"_Oh come on Beauty Queen! It'll be fun!"_

_I groan at Leo's annoying whining voice. I look at Jason with a pleading look. He laughs._

"_Don't worry Pipes. We'll have fun. Promise." Jason says giving that irresistible smile. _

_End of Flashback…_

Dammit those two. I can't say no to Jason…he's so… Jason how do you resist that? But I can't go on spring break with them and everyone else. We leave tonight and it'll be utter torture. The only way we could go is if my dad pulled some strings to get us somewhere to stay. Hoping he couldn't I called really short notice, but him being my dad, he was excited for me to go on vacation with everyone. Last night, he called saying his friend has a beach house in Miami and won't be using it until later this summer so we were free to use it. I tried to tell him that I didn't want to go, but he insisted. He booked a flight and everything. Trying to stay positive, I tried to imagine laying on the beach having fun with everyone else, but images of a bunch of other sluts hitting on Jason made my fists clenched at my sides in anger. I can't take a week plus of that. Not if he doesn't know how I feel…

I leaned against the side of the shower. The sound of the warm water hitting my chest and falling down the drain was somewhat soothing. It calmed me and helped me come to a decision. I'm going to tell him today. Now or never…

* * *

**Percy POV**

I spent the last half hour searching for Annabeth. I searched the pavilion, her cabin, the dining area, and training area, but no one knew where she was. It was nearing time to go and she had just disappeared. Eventually, I stumbled upon the forest where she was leaning against a tree, lost in her thoughts. Her beautiful, long blond curls were hanging on her left shoulder. She was wearing blue jean shorts and her orange CHB t-shirt. She had her back turned away from me, staring of at the river. I came up behind her, but I stopped a few feet short. The thought occurred to me that she didn't know I was here. I smiled. Using this to my advantage, I hooked my arms around her waist and tackled her. She shrieked and started to flail her arms around. I pinned her on the ground. Once on top of her she looked at me and stopped fighting. I gave her a sly smile.

"Hi."

"Dammit Seaweed Brain, You scared me!"

"Nice to see you too." I said with a sad smile.

She let out a sigh. Once I was convinced she wasn't mad, I let go of her arms. She punched my arm as soon as I let it go.

"Ow!"

"That's what you get for scaring me! "

"You know you can't resist me though." I said with a sly smile.

* * *

**Annabeth POV**

"In your dreams, Seaweed Brain."

I couldn't admit to him though that I really can't resist that cute, sly smile of his; it would just inflate his ego more. I wrapped my arms around his neck and played with his hair. I looked into his sea green eyes that make me melt on the inside. We didn't get much alone time like this, with the war and prophecies, we were both stressed out and always busy. Our vacation was well over due. Of course, I was in charge of planning everything, which again didn't give us any time together until our vacation. But, with today being the day we're leaving, I needed some time to collect my thoughts and making sure I got everything done.

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed he closed the distance between us and lightly kissed my lips. I was taken by surprise, but his lips were gentle and warm and I melted into him easily. I tightened my grip in his hair, pulling him closer. Our lips glided together in perfect sync like a tango. But, he quickly pulled away when quick footsteps were nearing. He rolled off of me while groaning, muttering something under his breath. I stood up quickly, collecting myself and brushing the dirt off of me. I looked in the distance and Grover was running towards us, waving his arms.

"Dude! Where have you guys been?! Everyone is looking for you!"

I looked at Percy, he was just sitting up with his arms on his knees; he opened his mouth to explain, but Grover interrupted.

"No! Don't give me any excuses! I know what you were doing out here! Dammit Percy do I need to give you the birds and the bees speal?"

"Whoa whoa whoa Grover! Nothing like that!" Percy said with a exhausted expression.

"Really?" Grover asked turning towards me.

"Yes Grover.."

"Phew.. Thank the gods. Anyways, Jason and them are looking for you. Aren't you supposed to be leaving soon for your vacation?"

I glanced at my watch. Crud. I ran towards my cabin to my bunk. I haven't even packed yet! With all the planning and work I've been doing I never had time. I threw everything I had in my bag, swim suit, brush, ummm clothes? I think that's it. After changing into a normal grey v-neck and faded jean shorts, I threw on my black Columbia, and ran out the door. Everyone was standing around in the pavilion, bags scattered around, waiting for me. I stopped by Percy and set down my bag.

"Sorry guys. I was busy.." I exchanged a nervous glance with Percy.

"mhmmm… well we have a flight to catch." Leo mused while give me the "I've got my eyes on you" gesture.

I turned towards Percy and grabbed his hand and squeezed it. I could tell he was nervous about the flight since the air wasn't the best place for him. I reassured him that it was going to be okay. With Jason, everything should be okay. Should…


	2. Chapter 2

**Annabeth POV**

After an hour of security, luggage, and id check, we were finally loaded up on the plane. We were all scattered around the plane, but Leo let me switch seats with him so I was near Percy. Percy was hesitant to even get on the plane, but with some help he started to relax. I turned to look at Percy. He was sitting in the seat next to me, but across the aisle. His head was resting back on the head rest with his eyes closed taking deep, slow breaths. I could tell he was extremely tense and well not scared but worried. His arms were resting on the arm rests gripping them tight, to the point where his knuckles were white. I reached over with my hand and touched his arm. He jump up right, but let out a deep sigh when he saw it was me.

"Hey, it'll be fine. Just relax, seaweed brain," I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Easy for you to say."

"As long as we're together it will be." He gave me a smile because he knew it would. After Hera tearing us apart, we were both lost. But, now that we are together again, we can do anything. It sounds cliché but it's true.

* * *

Some odd hours later plus a couple slight turbulences, we were finally safe on the ground. Once we got off the plane, Percy about hugged the airport floor. We all just laughed, but Percy was completely at ease now.

"So where are we staying?" Frank asked as we started to head to get our luggage.

"My dad insisted we stay at one of his friend's beach house while we're here. I didn't argue since we wouldn't be coming if we had to pay for a hotel." Piper said smiling.

"Sweeeeettt.. way to go Beauty Queen!" Leo exclaimed, which Piper rewarded him with a punch in the arm.

I leaned on Percy exhausted from the flight. He wrapped one of his arms around my shoulders. I nuzzled my head in his chest and breathed in his salty, fresh scent. After everyone gathered their luggage, Piper called a cab. Of course we had to get a huge van, due to their being 7 of us which means a lot of luggage. Piper sat in the front, since she was the only one who knew how to get there. But after a 30 minute drive we were finally there.

I stepped out of the car to see a huge modern white house with long windows and a patio with a hot tub in it. The large rock path led to the front double glass doors.

"This is so freaking awesome, Pipes!" Leo exclaimed.

Everyone else was letting out "ohs" and "ah's" in awe of how big this house was.

"wow. I had never seen it either." She quickly paid the cab driver who sped of a couple seconds later. She walked up the rock path, bags in hang and unlocked the door. "Welcome home."

Frank went straight for the black rectangular couch in the living room and plopped right on it. "I never want to leave."

* * *

**Piper POV**

After we all got settled in, everyone crashed including me. I quickly changed, but as soon as I flopped on the large queen bed with its soft silk comforter, I passed out. The next morning I jumped awake not knowing the time. Then I realized I wasn't late for archery or some meeting, I was finally free of responsibilities, for now. I jumped out of bed and headed to get breakfast. Annabeth was downstairs sipping a cup of coffee talking casually with Percy and Jason on the marble island in the kitchen. I hesitated. I looked down, I was still in my fleece shorts, short shorts, and tank. Thank god I was wearing a bra. I was already too far to go back, so I played it off casually. I grabbed a granola bar and a glass of orange juice. Annabeth said a quick morning to me then went back to a deep conversation with Percy. I finished off my juice then turned to wash it in the sink. Even with my back turned I could feel Jason's eyes on me. When I turned around, he quickly turned his head to some random place and acted like I wasn't there. I rolled my eyes and headed to my room

Annabeth, Hazel, and I planned to go the beach, so I quickly unpacked then changed into my bathing suit. I slipped on my black bikini bottoms and started to put my top on. It was a simple pink top with a slight reddish geometric design on it. I tied the top on loosely, but when I went to tie the back it kept coming lose.

I heard a knock on the door and yelled a quick "Come in!" In the mirror I saw Jason still in his khaki shorts and grey v-neck.

"Hi-" he stopped short when he saw me.

"Can you help me? I can't get the back to tie tight enough." I said

"umm.." I could see his cheeks heated.

Did I really look that good? The great Jason Grace was.. embarrassed?

"Pipes… you look… stunning." He finally got out.

I blushed slightly, but let out a laugh. "Thanks, can you help me?"

"Uh, yea right." He scurried over towards me and fidgeted with the string. It was kind of awkward with me standing there holding my boobs as he was tying my top. He didn't say much other than a couple mumbles that I couldn't make out. I started to realize that I never told him how I felt and I needed to do it now while it was just use. Now or never right? Best time as ever..

"Hey Jase, I need to tell you-," He cut me off mumbling done then running off. I turned around to try to stop him, but he was already gone.

I sighed. Maybe he doesn't feel the same way? Maybe I should let it go…

* * *

**Jason POV**

"Dude! You can't just walk out on her like that!" Percy yelled.

"What else was I suppose to do?!" And man did she look amazing in it. Piper is the definition of Drop dead gorgeous, and that's why I'm so nervous.

"You kiss her! Tell her you love her gods damn it! That is how you send the wrong messages." He put his hand on his forehead and massaged it. "If you don't get her now some other guy is going to sweep her off her feet and you'll be here friend zoned forever!"

Percy was right. I hate to admit it, but he had a point. I can't stand the thought of Piper being with anyone else. He threw my swim trunks at me.

"Now go change, then I'll help you sweep Piper off her feet. Gods you're hopeless!"

"How do you know so much? I mean women are so difficult."

"Trust me, even after a year I haven't even figured out Annabeth, I mean women ya know! But I learned enough. Now go change." He said making "get out of my sight" gesture.

I headed to the bathroom that was connected to our room. Not a moment later I heard voices outside our room. A knock and then "Babe?"

"just a sec." I heard Percy trot over to the door. "Sorry I wasn't changed yet. Unless you wanted me to come out-" Annabeth hit his stomach, cutting him off.

"Seriously Percy, I can smell the testosterone, so tone it down." I couldn't mistake that voice anywhere. Pipes. I slipped off my khaki shorts and boxers.

"She's got a point. That's for later." Annabeth flirted back.

"Can't wait." I rolled my eyes as I slipped on my swim trunks. I started to head out the door, then I heard, "Where's Jason?" Pipes asked softly.

"Bathroom changing, man he takes forever though. Must be doing his hair." Percy said laughing, I rolled my eyes again.

"Oh well, we're going to the beach. Don't wait up." I could hear their steps going down the hallway after that.

Percy then swung the door open. "Dude now's your chance!"

"Hey! How'd you even know I was changed?"

"I didn't, I just really hoped. I mean really hoped. I love you like a brother and all, well you are my brother technically. Anyways, the point is, now that I see you are, you're such a chicken. She was right there! And you sat in the bathroom." He shook his head. "Geez. Whatever man, let's go."

We grabbed our towel and headed to the beach, which wasn't far. It was the back yard to the house. It must be a public beach because a bunch of groups of teens were lying around tanning, swimming, or playing volleyball. I instantly spotted Piper and Annabeth lying on their towels next to Leo, Frank, and Hazel.

"Come on." Percy said as he walked down the patio stairs to the beach.


	3. Chapter 3

**Jason POV**

I headed out to the faded wooden patio that was attached to the house, and down the steps to the beach. Looking out at the sparkling blue ocean and warm beach, it seemed endless with hundreds of people all over. My eyes followed Percy who wasn't too far ahead of me; he had just jogged over to Annabeth, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. A muscular guy standing over Piper then started to talk with Percy. The guy has an average tan, muscular build with a volleyball perched on his hip. I quickly jogged over to them.

"Hey guys." I said casually.

Percy gave me an apologetic look before saying, "Hey Jase, this is-"

"Derek" He introduced himself reaching out to shake my hand.

I shook his hand and nodded. "Jason." Derek. Typical Douche bag name.

[Quick author note: I do not think it is a "douche bag" name if that offends anyone, but this is Jason's jealousy speaking!]

"So ah, Piper, Annabeth, Perce, what do you say?" He said smiling.

"I love volleyball." Pipes said smiling. She gave me a quick look. "I'd love to play with you."

He offered her a hand to help her up, she took it.

"Sorry dude." Percy said with his arm still around Annabeth as they followed. Piper glanced back at me with a sad look on her face, but Derek said something and she turned back towards him giving him a smile. A smile I wish she was giving me…

Lost in Piper I didn't notice someone was tapping my shoulder until they yelled, "Hey!"

I turned around to see a blond girl with bright green eyes standing behind me. "umm yea?" is all I replied. She mumbled something about "boys" while rolling her eyes.

"That your girl you were drooling over?"

I turned my head, my cheeks heated, "No." She laughed. "Why does it matter to you?"

She sighed, "That's my ex she's with, I'm not any happier then you seeing them together. I want him back and you obviously do too. So this is what we're going to do…"

* * *

**Piper POV**

We won 4 games in a row against Annabeth and Percy. I put my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath. I underestimated Derek, but we made a great team.

"Nice Pipes!" He gave me a high five. I laughed.

"Remind me to never play against you again." Percy said exhausted putting his hands on his knees catching his breath as Annabeth leaned on him.

"Awesome game by the way!" Derek exclaimed to Percy and Annabeth. They just nodded. "So me and my friends are going to this club downtown tonight. You guys should meet us there."

I exchanged glances with Annabeth, she just shrugged. Derek looked from me to Percy for an answer.

"or not…" Derek said sadly.

"We'd love to, but we have some other friends staying with us..." I said

"Hey, bring them with! More the merrier!" He exclaimed.

Cliché but sure. I nodded.

* * *

It was dusk and I still couldn't decide what to wear. I had been in my room for an hours showering, doing my hair and makeup. I had to look awesome if I wanted to get back at Jason. After our volleyball game, I went back to find Jason flirting with some girl. The girl had straight blond hair and a curvy figure, way more filled in and beautiful than mine. She was leaning over him, smiling. I had stood there trying to get up the nerve to break it up, but I couldn't. I let my fears come true. She was all over Jason, touching his muscular arms, trailing her fingers down his gorgeous chest. You want to know the worst part? He just sat there laughing and smiling at her as she flirted and touched him. My fists clenched at my sides. Now I know how he really feels.

But, putting that all aside, I finally decided on a scoop neck Black lace dress, with a black liner under that flowed a couple inches above my knees and a faded jean jacket. I slipped on my classic grey converse and headed towards downstairs. Tonight I was going to show Jason that I'm not some fan girl that'll just flaunt all over him; I had other options.

* * *

**Jason POV**

_Flashback.._

"_Dude, you totally screwed up." Percy informed me._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_That girl who was obviously flirting with you. I don't know what you were trying to accomplish with that, but now you just hurt Piper." He said sadly_

"_Hurt her?" I'd never hurt Piper. Ever. I love her. I love her so much that I'm scared she won't love me back. I want her to be at my side forever. She's so caring, strong willed, and breathtaking; she deserves someone who will love her and I want to be that someone. "I'd never hurt her. I-I love her."_

_Percy raised his hands innocently. "Tell her that not me."_

_End of Flashback…._

I was more nervous than if I had to face my dad himself. I turned towards Percy who was sitting in the living room. He gave me a "go for it" look. I headed up the stairs and down the hall. Piper's room was at the end, so walking those few feet seemed long and drawn out because I was so nervous. Before I got there she came out, closing the door behind her. My stomach did a flip when I saw her in the beautiful black lace dress. It took me a minute to catch my breath. Wow, she was stunning. Her beautiful brown hair was laying on her shoulders. She turned towards me and looked at me. I made the mistake of looking into her kaleidoscope eyes because once I did, I was lost in their beauty.

"Um Sparky?" She said.

"Oh sorry." I said nervously. Crap, keep calm Jase. I have to do this now or she'll never be mine. "You look..." I couldn't think of any words. "nice.." Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!

"Thanks I guess." She started to walk by me, but I grabbed her hand.

"Wait!" I said quickly. "I- umm.."

She hesitated. Without looking at me, she said, "What's this about Jason? You didn't just come up her to say I look nice."

My cheeks heated. "Piper I-" I couldn't get the words out.

"Jason.. Whatever you're going to say, just don't. You already broke my heart once, I-" Her voice choked a little. "just can't take it again." She then pulled her hand away and started to run down the hall downstairs.

"Piper wait! I- " She was already gone. Down the hall. Not a second later the front door slammed and it was dead quiet. I hurt the girl of my dreams. Even worse I broke her heart. Anger, Jealousy, and Sadness all hit me at once making it hard to stand. I leaned against the wall while I collected myself. This is going to be a long night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Piper POV**

The first thing I needed to get through the night. Drinks. And lots of 'em. I don't drink much, but, first glance at some girl grinding up a storm with Jason, I about lost it.

"Damn girl. You look like a light weight."

_I am, but at least only a few drinks will get me drunk enough to get through the night. _I thought.

"Come on, let's dance." Derek said taking my hand and leading me to the dance floor. I glanced at Jason. He was looking at me, and for a split second we made eye contact. I saw jealousy, envy, and maybe even regret in his eyes, but he turned away as if it was too painful to look at me. I felt a ping of guilt, but I don't know why since he basically did a Mexican hat dance on my heart, then moved right on to some other girl.

Derek stopped in the middle of the dance floor. The music rang in my ears. I couldn't hear anything, but the song. New bodies grinded against me as we danced to the song. But I was drunk, so after a minute, I started to let go.

Everything was a blur after that. What seemed like an hour later of non-stop dancing, I finally came to my senses. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead, I probably looked like a mess, but what do I care? Who am I impressing? The only guy I want to impress is grinding with some other girl.

I leaned over to Derek who was drunk and starting to tire. "I'll be back." I yelled, so he could hear me over the music. I pushed my way through the crowd and to the bathroom. I put both of my hands on the counter and took a deep breath. After a second, I grabbed a paper towel and wiped my forehead. _Awesome. _I thought. My make-up smeared. I dampened the paper towel and tried to fix my make-up. When I looked up in the mirror I saw a familiar, blond-headed figure leaning against the door keeping it closed. Suddenly, it came to me. She was the one hitting on Jason and grinding on him all night. I glared at her.

"What do you want?"

"Such a shame that Jason moved on… I mean such a strong, handsome guy deserves better than a slut."

My fists clenched, anger flared within me. "I'm a slut? Look at you grinding on Jason like you've done it a million times."

"At least he upgraded to someone… better, and his poor broken hearted 'friend' is left at my mercy." She gave me devious smile. Behind her, black thread like things started to crawl up the walls. They came from the ground around her shadow, moving up to the ceiling, towards me.

I took a step back, away from her. Her smile turned into a mischievous, evil smile. My face paled. I don't know what she meant, but she looked revengeful. The black threads came over to me, wrapping around my arms and legs, trapping me. I fought and tugged at them, but they bent like putty. I screamed as loud as I could, but a thread cut me off, wrapping around my head, covering my mouth. The girl laughed manically.

The last thing I heard before I blacked out was, "I will get revenge, on Percy, Frank, Hazel, and all their loved ones for ruining my life."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry, it is a short chapter with kind of a rickhanger (haha get it?) Anyways.. Another one coming up tomorrow! Stay tuned!**

**Jasper and Percabeth Love forever 3 **


	5. Chapter 5

**Percy POV**

Everything was going well until the freaky chick that hit on Jason was glaring at me evilly. I wasn't quite drunk, yet, but I was dancing as close as possible to Annabeth. Both of our hearts were racing, there was an invisible pull between us that kept us together and wouldn't let either of us go. Annabeth's soft lips danced with mine and left me breathless with every kiss. We stopped to catch out breaths. We were both panting from the non-stop dancing and kissing for the past.. hm… I don't know, time seemed to stop when I was with her. I rested my forehead on her head, she pressed her hands on my shirt, damp with sweat, but she didn't care. She grazed my chest with her hands over my sculpted abs and arms. My skin tingled with every touch. I glanced behind Annabeth to see a girl with straight blond hair staring right at me. We locked eyes for a second, there was something familiar about her. Her eyes were blazing with something, anger? fear? lust? Our gazes held for a seconds more, then she walked away. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stick up. Something felt… off.

"Hey wise girl."

"hmmmm.." she said obviously entranced in… well.. me.

I gave her a cocky smile. "I don't mean to disturb you-"

She cut me off with a slap on my stomach. "then don't"

I chuckled. "I wish, but something feels.. wrong."

"what is it?" she looked up at me curiously.

"I-I don't know. Find Hazel and Frank see if they're okay. I'll find Jason and Leo. Be careful. Meet me by the bar when you're done."

She nodded. I gave her a quick kiss then headed toward Jason who was by the bar.

I pushed my way through the crowd and headed toward Jason. He was sitting alone at the bar. His head down, he almost looked sad? Lonely? I wasn't sure. I put my hand on his shoulder. He jumped up and looked at me, but he slumped in disappointment as if he was waiting for someone else.

"oh… hey Percy.." He said sadly.

"Sorry to disappoint you, waiting for someone else?" I realized his eyes were red and puffy and he reeked of alcohol. "Geez dude, are you okay?"

"Fine.." he mumbled putting his head back down.

"well.. uh.. something felt off so I was making sure you're okay."

Someone put a hand on my shoulder and yelled, "I can't find Pipes!"

"She's probably with that douche boy Derek." Jason said bitterly.

"She's not, he came to me asking if I knew where she was. Apparently she went to the bathroom almost a half hour ago and hasn't come back."

"That bad of a date, huh?" Jason slurred, then laughed.

"Hazel checked the bathroom and she wasn't there." Leo continued.

"Piper isn't one to leave without telling someone. Something's definitely wrong." I said. That got Jason's attention. He jumped right up.

"we gotta find her!" He yelled, jumping up ready to start a search party.

"Chill, I'm working on it. Hazel and Frank are heading over here. We don't need to be separated again." Leo said motioning towards Hazel and Frank who were making their way through the crowd.

"What about Annabeth?" I asked

"What about her?" Leo replied.

"I told her to check on Hazel and Frank, than meet me here."

"I was just over there and she wasn't there…" He cursed.

Whoever took Piper had Annabeth too.

"No No No No… N-Not Annabeth." I sat down and held my head in my hands. I felt panic, anger, and fear all arising.

"What happened to him?" Frank asked as he came over to us. I looked over to him as he spoke. He was holding hands with Hazel. That had always been Annabeth and I, a pit formed in my stomach.

Leo frowned. "Annabeth and Piper are missing."

"We should stick together then. If someone took them, they might come back for someone else too." Frank said confidently.

"What do we do now?" Jason asked hopelessly.

"We have to go after them!" I said furiously. I was ready for World War 3. Whoever took Annabeth was going to pay. Big time.

"First off, we don't know where they are or where to even begin. I say we go back to the beach house, get our weapons and wait." Frank said.

"Wait?! We can't wait, Annabeth could get hurt or- or-"Frank cut me off.

"Whoever the kidnapper is will want something from us, ransom, revenge, something. I say, we prepare ourselves and let them come to us." Frank said

* * *

**Authors Note:**

**Ouhhhh the plot thickens! So what'd you think? Please review with any comments, questions etc.. I love reviews! I read them all, so no review will go unread! Love you guys! Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hazel POV**

Everything was going well; Frank and I were talking, laughing, and just enjoying the night. We had just been hanging out, toward the back of the club. Neither of us were much dancers, or well Frank wasn't. Coming from New Orleans, I knew how to party, but I didn't want to make Frank more uncomfortable than he already was. I was laughing at one of Frank's jokes when I started to get this prickly feeling in the back of my neck. I scanned the room, but nothing seemed out of place. I turned back to Frank and continued talking. Not much later after that, Leo came to us frantic saying Piper was missing. We calmly followed him to Percy and Jason. At first I thought she must have just left with someone. But Leo informed us Annabeth was missing as well. That set off an alarm. Someone was after us; two demigods don't just go missing. Annabeth and Piper are fighters too; they wouldn't go without a fight, so whoever had them is strong. We decided to go back to the beach house and hope the person who took Piper and Annabeth comes back or gives us some sort of sign.

When we got back to the beach house, Percy and Jason moped on in. I started to head back to my room. I felt someone grab my wrist gently. I turned to see it was Frank.

"You shouldn't go alone, since Annabeth and Piper are missing. I… urm…"

I smiled. His awkwardness was cute and he was worried about me which made butterflies in my stomach. "Thanks Frank." He managed a smile and followed me upstairs. I turned my light on in my room. I felt a pit in my stomach when I saw Annabeth's stuff sitting on the other bed. Where was she? Who would want to take her? Was she okay?

Frank came in right behind me. He followed my eyes to Annabeth's stuff. He understood and put his arm around my shoulders and said, "They'll be okay. We'll find them." I leaned on his chest and let him support me. It felt nice to let him hold me. He was always there for me. He never turned his back on me, even we he found out I wasn't from this time. He always thought I was a hero for giving up Elysium and defying Gaea; I never felt like it though. I felt like a coward and I thought my only friend would hate me after he found out, yet he was still here.

All of a sudden the lights flashed a couple times. I looked around the room, but it was just us.

"What's going on?" I asked

"I-I don't know." Frank straightened, ready to fight. "We should find the others."

He grabbed my hand and turned to leave. The door swung closed. He ran up to the door and tried to open it. "Locked." He tugged on it, but I wouldn't budge. "Damn it." He kicked the door, but it barely moved. I looked around again, scanning my surrounds. Across the room a saw something. _Did that shadow just move?_ Wait. Shadows don't move.

The lights flashed again then went off. It was pitch black. Frank who wasn't a few feet away from me, I couldn't see at all. "Frank?" I called. I felt a chilling feeling on the back of my neck. Something was wrong. Actually, something was _here. _I froze in fear.

"Follow my voice."

I started to walk forward, but something grabbed me by the ankle and pulled me down. I fell onto my stomach and let out a yelp. "Frank! Help!" Whatever had me, started to pull me back. I grabbed the side of the bed to keep me from going. I gripped the bed tight with both of my hands and concentrated on any precious metals, jewels. Nothing. I cursed. "Frank?"

"Coming!" He stumbled and hit the bed. I risked one hand to grab him. He jumped a little. "It's me. Help! Something's got my ankle." He tried to pull me, but pain shot up my leg and I let out a yelp. "That's not going to work!" Suddenly, whatever had me tugged on my ankle really hard. I lost grip on the bed and grabbed Frank.

"What do I do?!" He asked franticly. The thing wrapped around my other ankle and started up my leg. Another tug. One hand lost grip on frank. I was gripping him frantically, scared of losing grip. What in tartarus had my legs?! It couldn't be the shadows, could it?

"Think of something! Quick!" Another tug. I lost grip on Frank completely; His panicked yell was the last thing I heard before everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

**Percy POV**

I had a million thoughts going through my head as we headed back to the beach house. Where's Annabeth? Who would do this? Who were they? The taxi ride to the beach house was filled with an eerie silence. I turned to the window and stared out into the night. I didn't know what time it was, but the streets were filled with groups of people, stumbling and laughing. The street lights passed us in a blur. The taxi came to a slow stop at a light. On the corner, I saw a girl with curly blond hair. _Annabeth?_ I jumped up and leaned to get a closer look. She turned around, but it wasn't Annabeth. The girl had bright blue eyes and red lip stick. She looked like a freaking clown with how much make up she had on. That's definitely not Annabeth. Annabeth didn't need make up to be so stunning and beautiful. She's absolutely perfect without even trying. I sighed. I missed her. I felt like a part of me was missing. She has been a huge part of my life since I arrived at Camp. Since we were 12. _12! _It seems like forever ago…

The taxi finally pulled up to the beach house. We filed out of the taxi. I pulled some cash out of my pocket and paid him, then got out of the car. As soon as I closed the door, the taxi sped off behind me.

Everyone's spirits were low. Jason was dragging his feet inside looking at the ground, followed by Leo who strangely had no humor left in him. He just followed Jason in silence. Frank walked next to Hazel silently.

Frank, Hazel and Leo headed upstairs. Jason and I stayed in the living room. Jason trudged over to the couch and sat down, putting his head in his hands. I started pacing, trying to think who did this and why. Nothing about this made sense. Where did Annabeth and Piper fit into this? Neither of them had many enemies, so who were they really after?

"Who could have done this? And why would they want Pipes? God it's all my fault." Jason said sadly. He was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. His voice cracked at Piper's name. Hurt and concern was painted all over his face. I felt a ping of guilty at how torn up he looked. He's lost so much; he can't lose Piper too. It'll tear him apart.

"Don't blame yourself. We'll get them back and whoever did this will pay." I clenched my fist. "But, we need to try to figure out who did this and why." We all had a long list of enemies; it could be anyone. But to kidnap Piper and Annabeth in a place with hundreds of people, they must have blended in. So that leaves..

The lights flashed then went out. "What was that?" Jason asked sitting up. He got up slowly. I turned towards him. A scream came from upstairs. We both turned and ran upstairs. Another scream. I stopped at Hazel and Annabeth's room.

"The scream came from in here." I said, I tried to open the door. "It's locked."

Jason pushed past me and pulled on the door himself. Nothing. He kicked it, but it didn't budge.

"NOOOOOOO!" someone from inside said.

I knocked on the door and yelled, "Frank! Hazel! What's going on? You guys okay?"

No reply. "We need to break down the door." Jason said. I nodded. We both took a couple steps back.

"Ready?" I nodded. "1… 2… 3!" he yelled. On 3 we both ran towards the door and it broke open. There was an eerie silence in the room. It was pitch black, so I couldn't see where anything or anyone was.

"Frank? Hazel?" I called out. I felt a prickly feeling on the back of my neck. Someone was here.

We both froze. The lights flickered back on. I scanned the room. I looked to see Frank sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. No one else.

"They- They took Hazel" He said in a shaky breath. I scanned the room again. One of the windows across the room was open.

Jason ran to the open window and looked both ways. I heard a low growl come from his mouth.

"What do you see, Jase?" I asked. Without answering, he jumped out the window and shot into the sky. Frank and I ran to the window to see him flying after someone flying on a Pegasus with a limp body hanging over it, which must be Hazel.

I heard footsteps behind me; I turned around to see Leo in the doorway.

"What happened?" He asked.

"No time! Come on!" I motioned for them to follow me. I sprinted out the door and down the hallway. I heard their footsteps treading behind mine. I heard Leo panicking, asking a million questions. _Where's Hazel? Where's Jason? What's going on? _My head started to throb.

"Are you always this annoying?" I yelled.

He smirked_. _"Yes, Thank you. I try very hard to be annoying."

It wasn't a compliment… I slide the glass door open. In the distance I saw Jason flying, like a blond superman, after a hooded figure on a Pegasus. I yelled his name, but he was too far to hear. That or he ignored me.. After a few seconds they disappeared into the pitch black sky. They could be anywhere now.

"Will someone please explain what happened? Where's Jason going? Who was that? Where's Hazel?" he asked franticly. I saw Frank snap when he mentioned Hazel.

"They took Hazel, okay?! It's all my fault!" His voice softened. "Right out of my hands."

He looked close to tears. His face was full of hurt and concern. He sat down shakily on a lawn chair that was on the balcony. Leo stood their shocked.

"No, no, no… Not her too." His face pale.

"Guys you have to keep it together! If we don't go after Jason they could get him too! Now get up!"

They both rose like they were in a trance.

"How do we even find them?" Frank said in a monotone voice. "We don't even know where they are."

"I have a friend who can help." I said. They both gave me a questioning look. I turned toward the beach and whistled.

"okay…" Leo said.

30 long, agonizing seconds later, Mrs. O'Leary jumps out of the shadows and onto me.

I heard Frank jump back and yelp. "it's okay guys. It's just Mrs. O'Leary. Hey girl, I missed you too." She continued to lick my face.

"WOOF!"

I pushed her off me and got up, wiping the sleeve of my jacket"Hey girl, can you help us?"

"WOOF!"

"I'm going to take that as a yes…" I looked around me. Luckily Jason's shirt was sitting on the table on the patio. I grabbed it and put held it out to Mrs. O'Leary. "We need to find Jason."

She lowered her nose and sniffed the shirt; she then paced in a circle. I turned to see if Leo and Frank were okay. Frank was standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. Leo was pacing in a circle looking at the ground mumbling to himself. I looked back to see Mrs. O'Leary lift her head and sniffed the air.

"WOOF! WOOF!" Leo and Frank turned to Mrs. O'Leary.

"You got him girl?"

"WOOF!"

I looked back at them. "Come on, get on." Frank took a step back.

"G-get on? On that thing?" Frank said pointing at Mrs. O'Leary. I glared at him.

"Hey, Mrs. O'Leary is a hellhound. Not a thing. She has feelings too. She is perfectly save."

"I think I'll just fly by you guys." Frank said shakily.

"You can't. We're going to shadow travel. It's quicker. We lost so much time arguing that it's the only way to catch up with Jason and find the others." There was an eerie silence. Frank merely nodded. I looked at Leo.

"Hey, Doggie express. I like it." He said shrugging. We all climbed on.

"Alright girl, let's go. For all new passengers, I will warn you know… I hope you're not scared of the dark and ghosts!" Frank opened his mouth to argue, but Mrs. O'Leary jumped through a shadow and we were off.


	8. Chapter 8

**Piper POV**

My body was cold and achy; my wrists rubbed raw from the icy shackles around them; I tried to call out, but my voice hoarse and worn from screaming. I hated feeling helpless and weak, but I didn't have a power; I couldn't get out. I pulled at the shackles again, pain shot up my arm, and I let out a slight whimper.

_Jason.. Help.._

I opened my eyes; Dark spots clouded my vision until clearing. The room is a faded grey stone with one large window that was tinted, so I couldn't see through; on the ceiling and floor were large vents with one brown door at the other side of the room. The only light in the room was coming from a single light on the wall near the door flickering on and off.

I heard a "Pshhhh" of a spray. I looked up to see a white mist coming through the vent. The mist swept over me and within seconds my eyes began to feel heavy and my muscles felt weak and feeble. I tried to fight the exhaustion, but darkness swept over me…

* * *

**Jason POV**

The wind whipped in my air as I chased the person riding a Pegasus. They were flying quickly; I could barely keep up. We flew over never ending rows of building, until in the distance they landed. I narrowed my eyes to try to see where, but I couldn't tell. I landed on the roof top of a nearby building to scout the area. Wherever they had landed was in the middle of abandon buildings and warehouses; they must be keeping Piper somewhere near here. I need to tell Percy. I reached in my pocket for my cell phone, but as I pulled it out a silky, black thread caught my wrist, wrapping around it. I tugged on it, but it only stretched; with my other hand I pulled on it again, the thing was made of steel. Another wrapped around my other wrist, it whipped me around so I was looking at a cloaked figure. Their arms were up as if a puppet master controlling the threads. I tugged on the threads more, but the figure pulled towards her and the threads tightened on my wrists, then pulled me to my knees.

Thoughts swarmed my head, did Piper go through this? Where was she? Was she hurt? She's all I have, and if they did anything to her I'd repay it 10 fold. I could feel the anger building inside of me, sparks flew from my finger tips. I looked at the black threads, as sparks flew they began to loosen. I looked up at the figure that began to draw back. I let my anger and sadness take over. Clouds gathered overhead, thunder rumbled; I could feel the power flowing through my veins. I looked back at the figure, they took a step back.

"Now the real fun."

Lightning striked in the space between us. The threads jerked back, loosening enough so I could pull my wrists free. I quickly gathered myself to my feet and pulled my golden coin from my pocket. In one swift motion I flipped it into the air, changing into a sword. I rose it towards the figure.

"Now you're going to pay. For me, For Pipes."

"Pipes? Would that be short for Piper?"

I jumped at the figures voice; it was dark yet feminine. The figure was a girl, but the shocked didn't last long; it quickly turned to cold, hard anger.

"The poor girl has been calling for a Jason, she tried fighting against the cold, iron chains.." She said with a gloating tone, "but no one came for her, she started to lose hope."

My knuckles were white from gripping the hilt of my sword so tight. "I will end you."

I rushed up towards the figure, but something hit me in the back of the head and everything went black..

* * *

I woke to a grey, stoned room, my hands tied behind my back and my legs to the legs of the icy, metal chair. I tugged the ropes, but they were tight. Suddenly I became aware of the large glass window in front of me. Through it was a girl, her arms shackled above her limp body. Suddenly it came to me, _"she tried fighting against the cold, iron chains.." _

"N-No, No, No!" I yelled.

It couldn't be. I narrowed my eyes to get a closer look to be sure; she had familiar choppy brown hair. Her head jumped up. She looked up around the room, then at the window. I didn't know if she could see me, or if I could just see her. But, my eyes met hers and my heart did a flip. _Piper. _Her usually bright kaleidoscope eyes were sad, pained, and haunted. She struggled and pulled at the shackles, tears spilling from her eyes.

"Pipes.." her name came out a torn whisper.. "No, no, no…" I pulled at the ropes, but they were tight. I looked back at Pipes; she was still struggling at the shackles. My heart ached at the fear and agony in her eyes. "Pipes.. Pipes!"

"She can't hear you."

I whipped my head around, the same figure from earlier stood in the doorway behind me.

"What did you do to her?!" my voice was unrecognizable with the murderous tone concealing it.

"She's fine.. for now, but one wrong move and she'll die." I motioned towards the room she was in. My eyes moved to the vents on the ceiling and floor. "It's a handy room we found; it can work much like a… gas chamber, which is such a slow… painful death."

Instinctively I pulled on the ropes to attack her for threatening me with Pipes' life, but the ropes didn't budge. I cursed. I took a deep breath, trying to summon any sparks or lightning of some sort, but I was deep underground and summon all that lightning earlier was taking its toll on me. I could feel my muscles becoming achy and worn-out.

I opened my mouth to say something, but another figure bursted through the door. The figure spoke similar to the girl in front of me. "Aella! I told you—"

"Meliana, my apologizes, but there are 3 buffoons stalking around the area."

The girl in front of me, Meliana, cursed. "We'll be back, pretty boy." She then turned and walked out of the room with her friend.

_Pretty boy? Where in Tartarus did she get that? _

I waited a few seconds so I could no longer hear their retreating steps. I replayed what Aella had said in my head. _"…, but there are 3 buffoons stalking the area." _ That must be Percy, Leo, and Frank.

I pulled at the ropes a few more times, but they wouldn't loosen. I cried out in frustration, looking up at Pipes who was now limp against the wall.

"Pipes.." I said softly. Her usually beautiful, radiant face was pale with a slight bruise on the side of her chin. "Pipes.. I love you.."

* * *

**Percy POV**

We landed in an alley on the other side of Miami. Frank jumped off Mrs. O'Leary in pure terror as soon as she jumped from the shadows.

"I-I'm alive!" Frank exclaimed as he touched his face to make sure it was all there.

"Thanks girl, you deserve a nap." I said petting Mrs. O'Leary's head. She replied with a loud _WOOF! _Before curling up in a ball near a dumpster. I ran to the end of the alley and peaked around the corner, looking each way. Far down the street to my left I saw two figures dragging a body. I narrowed my eyes to look at them closer. Both figures were cloaked. The wind blew revealing axes that was connected to one of their belts. My eyes widened. They were dragging a guy with blond hair, he had what looked like black charred marks on him. Then it hit me. "Jason.."

"Jason?! Where?!" Leo said worriedly.

He ran to where I was, peaking around the corner. "over there, by that brick building, I saw them dragging Jason into it." I turned around towards Leo and Frank.

Leo cursed. "They have him too now. What do we do?" They all looked at me. A pit formed in my stomach. I looked at the ground pondering. The night was humid and the area was strangely silent, giving me goose bumps.

"We need a plan. We can't just go rushing in there. That's how Jason got captured; we're the only ones left, so we cannot fail."

"We don't even know who they are or if there are more of them," Frank pointed out.

"I don't think there's going to be more then 2 or 3 of them. One was wielding at least one axe, so they're strong."

"But we know where they are." Leo said.

"We don't even know if Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth are there though," Frank, the pessimist, pointed out.

They both looked at me. There was an eerie silence as I thought. I met Leo's eyes, then Frank's.

"Alright, I've got a plan.." I told them. We were going in and we're going to take everyone back.


	9. Chapter 9

**Leo POV**

Save my best friend from some whack jobs? No problem. Frank shifted to an eagle and scoped the area before we entered. The two figures had entered an old, brick building a few down from the alley we were in. There was only one way in and one way out, so we'd have to take the frontal approach, which was to our disadvantage. After gathering a somewhat plan, we tried to figure out what all we know about the 'kidnappers.' Frank told us how Hazel was taken by black threads, but they weren't ordinary black threads; they were sticky and stretchy, but as strong as iron. Frank is a big guy, with some big muscles, if he couldn't break the threads no one can.

"That doesn't make sense… Black threads.." Percy thought aloud. "We know they're human."

"But they could be gods, demi-gods…" Frank said trailing off towards the end.

"So we basically have no clue what we're up against." I pointed out.

Percy eyed me, "That's what we're trying to figure out." He paused, "We know one of them wields an axe…"

"And the other controls black thread things." Frank finished. "But there could be more of them."

Percy nodded, "I know, but we know more than we did about them." Percy paused. "Leo, if we come in contact with the one who controls the threads you're best for the job."

I nodded solemnly.

"Frank, I want you to focus on finding Hazel, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason; your strength can help free them. We might need their help fighting, so you need to work fast." Percy continued. Frank gave Percy an intense nod. "We need to stick together. They were able to get the others by getting them alone, so if we're together we shouldn't have any problems." He paused for a moment. "Now let's get our friends back…"

* * *

**Jason POV**

I was getting anxious from sitting here for so long, tied up and utterly useless. My wrists were rubbed raw from trying to loosening the ties, but I didn't care, every time I looked up and saw Piper lying limply against the wall with her wrists shackled above her, my heart ached and I knew I couldn't give up until I was free. I tugged and pulled at the ties, but still nothing but pain. I felt so useless and weak being tied up like this. How could I let this happen? Damn it. I was so fueled by anger that I didn't take time to think. Of course they wanted me alone to take me down that's how they got the others. I wanted to hit myself, but my hands were tied.

I cursed at myself aloud, then let out an impatient sigh. A few moments passed before there was a knock on the door.

"JASE! JASON? You in here?"

"Leo?!" I have never been so happen to see him. "Damn it, get in here!"

"The doors locked, I'll try to melt the lock." A few moments passed. I felt myself getting on edge. "Got it!"

I turned my head as Leo kicked open the door. "Dude, how did you get here? Where's the others?" Leo ran over to my chair, I couldn't see what he was doing, but if could feel the warmth of the flame coming from his hand.

"Hold still, I'm going to burn the ropes off..And long story short, we shadow traveled here on a giant dog, but we got split up once we got in here. Someone was trying to split us up."

I nodded. "There's two girls. Aella and Meliana."

"Girls?"

"They're strong, the one, Meliana, controls shadows." I said as I pulled my hands free from the ties. It felt so good to be free. I rubbed my wrists with my hands as Leo moved to the ties around my ankles.

"Shadows? Is that what the black threads were that Frank was talking about?"

I nodded. "We still don't know much about them."

"Right, we need to find the others before one of the _girls _catch up with us…" Leo said as he finished with the ropes. "Do you know where the others are being held?"

I could kick myself right now. I looked through the window, Pipes was still hanging limply against the wall. Her beautiful, choppy brown hair was covering her face. Her once stunning black lace dress, was worn and ripped with traces of dirt on it.

"Oh god, beauty queen." Leo said softly.

"There should be another door not too far from here, we need to get her."

Leo nodded. I ran out the door with Leo not too far behind me. I looked left then right. Good, no one was here. I then turned to my left and headed that way. I had faced that way so the door should be not too far that way. I ran that way; I stopped at a rusted iron door not too far from where we came out. There was a single handle on it, I tried to turn it.

"It's locked." I said cursing.

"I could melt the lock." Leo offered.

"That'll take too long." I backed up away from the door, taking Leo's arm and pulling him with me. "On 3." I paused. "1.. 2.. 3!" Leo and I ran toward the door, knocking it over and hitting the floor with it. I slid on my back until I hit Leo, stopping me. Leo rolled onto his side groaning from the pain in his shoulder. I on the other hand was filled with adrenaline, so I couldn't feel anything, but worry and sadness. I rushed to my feet and ran over to Pipes. I pulled out my coin and flipped it in one swift motion; jamming my sword into the wall, breaking the chains, Piper fell limply onto the floor. I swept her into my arms, shaking her gently.

"Pipes, come one Pipes, Wake up.. Pipes!" I yelled, shaking her forcefully.

"Jase, Jason!" Leo said grabbing my shoulders from behind. I turned towards him angrily. "You need to calm down, okay?" He said softly, then squeezing my shoulder reassuringly. "She'll be okay."

I nodded at him. I then turned back to Pipes. Her breathing was shallow and shaky, her head was hanging limply as though there was no muscle or bone holding it up. I felt the pit in my stomach form again. She was cold and shaking, but I couldn't do anything about it now.

"Jason, we should hurry. They'll find us any second." Leo said.

I laid Piper down gently. "Jase, what are you—"

I stood up and pulled my sword from the chains; I then turned it swiftly back into a coin that slipped fluidly back into my pocket. I scooped Piper up in my arms, carrying her wedding style, and then nodded at Leo. "Let's go."

I followed Leo out the door and down the corridor. "I came in with Percy and Frank, but we got split up. Those two girls attacked us; I thought one was after me when I stumbled upon you guys. We came in down this way, but we're not going to get out easy, especially without the others."

I followed Leo out of the cellar and down a stone hallway. It was dark and musty, the only lighting were very few dim lights on the wall. We jogged lightly for what felt like a long time, going left then right then left again until we came to a stair case. Leo paused right before the staircase, putting his hand out giving me the signal to stop. He then turned to me and put a finger to his lips; then he started up the steps slowly and quietly, trying not to make a sound. He came to the top and opened the door soundlessly. He looked both way out the door, and then turned back to me and motioned me up. I moved slowly up the steps after him. Halfway up, as I went to take another step the wood creaked. I flinched at the sound and froze. I looked up at Leo who looked around. We paused for a second. He then motioned me to continue.

I got to the top of the stairs, Piper in my arms. Leo motioned me through the door and out into the corridor. We were in another stone hallway that split three ways.

"Now where?" I whispered. Leo shrugged. I rolled my eyes. We heard a crash coming straight ahead. I turned towards Leo; he nodded and we headed that way. We broke out into a run, but my foot got caught and I fell down. Piper slid out of my arms and hit a wall a few feet away from me.

"Leo!" He stopped and turned at me.

"Jason, this is no time for a break!" He leaned down to lend me a hand, I took it. He started to pull me up when my feet got pulled out from under me. "Jase!" I felt the same black shadows wrapping around my ankle and up my leg, pulling me from Leo's grip. I was being pulled back towards the way we came. I cursed.

I pulled my coin from my pocket and flipped it into my sword, barely catching it by the hilt. I bent down as the shadows tried to pull me and tried to cut them. They bent like rubber, not even cutting at the slightest. The shadows then wrapped around my sword and with a powerful tug, pulled it out of my hands, hitting the floor with a _CLINK! _"Leo!" I cursed. I tried to grab the wall, but it scraped my hand. I cursed again. I felt a very warm hand grab mine that were sprawling above my hand.

"I gotcha!" Leo yelled. I used both of my hand to keep a grip on him as he tried to keep the shadows from pulling me. The shadows pulled and strained as they tried to keep pulling me. "Hold on!" Leo called. He let go of one of my hands.

"Leo, what are you doing?!" I yelled. A ball of fire lit up his hand; he then threw it right past me at my feet. I flinched, pulling my feet away; the fire missing my feet by a centimeter. "Hey!"

Leo shrugged, "Sorry, bad aim." I felt the threads around my foot loosen. I turned to see them quickly retreating from the fire. I pulled myself up with Leo's help; he then formed fire in both of his hands and threw it at the ground, making a wall of fire. "That should do it!"

I looked back at Leo; I could see his face in the glow of the fire. He had a stupid grin on his face, only he could smile at such an unreasonable time. I shook my head at the ground. "Hey, Let's—" I stopped mid-sentence as I turned. A figure in the distance made me freeze in disbelief.

"Ummm.. Jason? Are you okay?" Leo asked. I couldn't get words out, he waved a hand in front of my face. I caught his hand and motioned for him to look in front of me. I felt him freeze. I dropped his hand.

"P-Pipes?"

* * *

**Piper POV **

My eyes fluttered open, the first thing I became aware of where my hands were free, but I was lying on the cold, stone ground. I pushed myself up shakily and looked around. The only light was coming from the distance, a faded orangey glow. The walls were decorated with ugly wallpaper that was peeling off in many places revealing mold, which explains the musty smell.

"Where am I?" I said aloud, but I could hardly recognize my voice. It was hoarse and worn and sounded nothing like my normal voice. _Where was everyone? _I lifted my hand to my head, it was throbbing erratically. I searched my memory for anything that could help, but my thoughts were cut off my yells and a loud _CLINK! _I pushed myself to my feet, but I swayed to the side. I laid my back on the wall to keep myself up. I kept both of my hands on the wall as I walked toward the orangey glow. I could barely see anything. Suddenly, two figures were in the distance. I could barely make them out, I squinted my eyes to get a better look.

They called out my name. I froze, barely able to keep myself up. They started towards me. Cold, hard terror pulsed through my veins. I turned to run, pushing myself off the wall. My muscles cried out in pain with every step, trying to give in, but I pushed on. I didn't make if far thought until my foot caught on something. I stumbled and fell; sliding on the stone ground. What I stumbled on slid right in front of my face. A sword. I hastily picked it up and pushed myself up, putting my back to the wall to keep me up. The figures steps were nearing me. A dim light above me was the only light, so I couldn't see their faces. I heard the footsteps stop.

"Don't come any closer!" I swung the sword straight out at them. I heard the footsteps continue forward. "I said stop!"

"Hey, Hey it's okay Piper."

"Show yourselves!" I yelled panicky.

"Now you're being contradictive, we can only do one or the other, beauty queen." The voice called out.

"Beauty queen?" I said softly. Could it be? The figures stepped into the light, their hands raised innocently. Beautiful blond hair laid lazily on a familiar face that made my heart flip. Not far behind him, another tan, annoying face with curly hair grinned obnoxiously. "Jason? Leo?" I started to lower my sword. The heavy ache of my muscles then took over, I dropped the sword onto the ground and gave into exhaustion. My knees felt wobbly and weak; they started to give out, but Jason ran towards me and caught me in his arms. His warm, loving arms already started to heal my worn heart. I didn't fight the tears that threatened; I let them flow endlessly down my cheeks. My lip trembled, but not in despair, in relief.

"You came for me." I said softly into his shoulder. He squeezed me, leaning down into my ear. His warm breath tickled my ear and sent shivers down my spine.

"I'll always come for you, Pipes."

After those words that made my heart flutter, I lost it. I sobbed into his shirt and he let me. He just held me reassuringly and whispering amorous words into my ear. Though the moment was lost when Leo awkwardly joined in for a group hug.

"Awwwwww! I just love family reunions! Tissue?" Leo offered. I let out a sigh. No matter how annoying Leo was, I kind of missed it. I let go of Jason for the first time, but he didn't let go of me, still with one protective arm around my shoulder, I turned to Leo who had a tissues in his hand.

"How did you—?" Right, magical belt. "Thanks, Leo." I said accepting the tissue. I wiped my eyes and nose, while doing so Leo wasted no time to start planning. He said his wall of fire won't last much longer so we needed to find a way out, or find the others. He had no clue where everyone else was because apparently they got split up. Great. Our best bet was to find the others before the people after us found us.

"Pipes," Jason said looking at me. I turned my head up at him. "Do you remember anything that might help?"

"Um.." I closed my eyes and searched my memory. "The last thing I remember was, I was in the bathroom at the club we were at."

"Then?" Leo asked.

Then it came to me. "I remember now."

"What? What is it?"

"The person who took me.. She-She was the girl who was flirting with Jason at the beach and the club."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it! I apologize for the delay between updates; another chapter coming really soon! **

* * *

**Jason POV**

The soft crackle of Leo's fire wall slowly dimmed in the distance. The pitch darkness was devouring us every second we stood here, waiting for someone to come.

"We should move, before they make it through that firewall." I said, breaking the silence.

"But where?" Leo chimed in.

"There's only one way to go." I motioned to my left.

"But from there? Should we look for Percy and the others? Or cut our losses and leave?" Leo asked.

I started to ponder. I hated being the leader. There was so much weight on my shoulders. Personally, I wanted to leave to get Pipes out of harms way. I looked at her. She hadn't said a word since we chased her. Her face was extremely pale and bruised; she could barely keep herself up; actually she wasn't. Piper was leaning all her weight on me, if I moved an inch she looked like she would fall over.

"I hate to say it, but this problem won't be solved on its own. We need to find Percy and the others so we can take these people down. Running away will only put it off. We'll be better in numbers."

Leo nodded and turned toward the fire. I looked as well. It was nearly out.

"We should hurry." I turned to Pipes. "Can you walk? Or should I carry you?"

She shook her head and pushed off of me. "Let's go." She winced slightly at her voice; I frowned. It was hoarse and raspy. Clearing her throat, she starting walking straight. I watched her go; she was hugging her shoulders, trying not to limp and holding herself together. I silently picked up my sword from where Pipes dropped it. I gripped the hilt until my knuckles were white with anger.

Leo put a hand on my shoulder and said, "We should go." I loosened my grip and simply nodded and we jogged to catch up with Piper.

* * *

**Annabeth POV**

Our vacation was going great, until someone grabbed me from the crowd at the night club. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Whoever it was, grabbed me from behind. I passed out soon after, and then everything was a blur. Now, I was shackled to a tile wall. I don't remember how I got here; I just woke up lying on the dirty, icy ground with the cold, metal cuffs around my wrists. Next to me was Hazel who was lying unconscious; her usually tan skin was pale and her breathing was shallow. I moved against the cold, metal cuffs trying to get free, but I worked until my wrists were rubbed raw and still nothing. I started to feel angry and hopeless. I hated feeling like a damsel in distress.

"Come on out, cowards! Lemme see your face!" Still no response. "Face me like a man!"

A deep laughter rang in the room. The door slammed open. "Man?" A cloaked figure stepped into the

dim light that hung next to the door. They laughed again. "Men are pansies. They don't even deserve to shine my shoes."

_What? _"Why am I here? What do you want?" I asked quickly.

"_He_ will pay. They will all pay…" Then they stepped out of the room.

"Wait!" The door slammed shut. I cursed. I got nothing out of them; still hiding behind that damn cloak. Next to me, Hazel stirred. I turned, quickly looking at her.

"Hazel? Hazel! Wake up!" She tossed and turned lightly against her chains. Her face was pained as if she was having a nightmare, which wasn't uncommon for demigods.

"Hazel?" She mumbled something intelligible. I cursed and angrily pulled at my chains. I relaxed my muscles; the pain was starting to set in. I closed my eyes and listened to the soft beat of my heart that rang in my ears…

* * *

Cold.. It's so cold. The ice-cold tile against my nearly bare back left goosebumps on my skin. I was starting to become so cold that it was painful. My muscles ached as I went in and out of consciousness. Using most of my strength I turned my head to the side to check on Hazel. She was still pale and weak; she hadn't moved in what felt like hours. Everything felt so hopeless, but just then I heard something. A scratch at the door. Scratch?

I started to push myself up the wall, trying to stand. My knees started to buckle, but I held myself up with the help of the wall, using the chains as my anchor. The scratches came again, but this time quicker and more frequent.

"Hello?" I called out. The scratches came to an abrupt stop. Muffled voices appeared on the other side of the door. There was a loud _CLINK! _ and other noises that made it sound like a battle was going on. I pulled against my chains.

_What in Tartarus was going on? _There was some muffled yelling that I couldn't make out, and then the metal door slammed open. That cloaked figure again hiding in the damn shadows.

"Show your face you cowards!" I pulled at my chains. "You've done nothing but run!" I yelled. The figure came out of the shadows with a sincere look on their face. I narrowed my eyes to get a better look.

"Frank?" I asked almost wistfully. "Where's Percy?" He relaxed his shoulders and started towards me.

"Annabeth? Are you okay? And Percy is holding off some girl while I get you."

"I'm fine, get Hazel." I motioned towards her. His eyes widened and he rushed down to her. He shook her slightly and yelled her name.

"I've been trying to wake her for hours. They must have sedated her." I could hear yelling and the clashing of swords outside the room. I turned forward, looking out the door. It was pitch black as far as I could see, but I could hear the fighting, so they were close. A pit formed in my stomach. Percy was out there fighting whoever at a major disadvantage. My attention snapped back to Frank who was holding Hazel closely.

"Sedated? She's not an animal!" He yelled; his face was turning red with rage and frustration.

"Frank, Calm down. This isn't your fault. Somehow they must have known she's stronger underground." I said coolly. He opened his mouth, and then closed it, taking a deep breath. He nodded, then stood up and shifted into a tall, grizzly bear. He roared then broke the chains that held Hazel, then made his way over to me and broke my shackles. My knees buckled from under me, I fell into a heap on the floor. Frank quickly shifted back and leaned down to help me. I raised a hand.

"No, No. I'm fine. Percy needs your help." He nodded, and then disappeared out the door...

* * *

_Teaser for Chapter 11:_

**Piper POV **

Jason looked to me, as if asking for permission to go.

"They need your help. Go." I told him softly, trying not to strain my voice. Jason gave me a small smile, and then did the unexpected. He took a step forward with his free hand he brushed the hair off of my face. He then gave me a soft, feathery kiss on my forehead. It was so small, yet so loving and beautiful. He pulled something from his pocket and using both of his hands, he wrapped my hands around it. Once he let go, I looked at it. _Katoptris._ I thought. My breath hitched as I looked up at him. His golden locks were glowing in the dim lights, his eyes shining brilliantly.

I didn't want him to leave, but he had to. With all my strength, I took a step back. He hesitated to leave, but it only lasted a moment; he turned and ran into the midst of battle.

It was taking all 4 guys to take this girl down. None of them could get close without almost getting their head chopped off. Percy barely conscious against the wall; he must have been holding her off for a while; he was pale with beads of sweat rolling down his brow. Frank was still shifted to a wolf, snapping at the girl, but trying not to close in fear of getting his head chopped off. Jason, who had just entered battle, was swiftly engaging in direct combat with the girl. Quiet ballsy on his part. I didn't see Annabeth of Hazel; they must not have found them yet...

I breathed a heavy sigh. I, on the other hand, was standing at the edge of the large clearing. Suddenly, I got a tingling feeling in the back of my neck. Someone else was here. Behind me was the dark corridor at which we had come. The pitch black darkness enveloped it, so it was impossible to see through. I don't remember it being that dark.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see anything. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move, but there were only shadows, how can they move? I turned toward the hallway. That's when everything went to hell...

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 11 will be up soon! Chapter 11 is an intense, thrilling chapter that starts to bring conclusion to their battle. Who were these people? Why them? What happened with Hazel? All of these questions will be answered in the next chapter! :) Thanks for viewing :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Piper POV **

We kept a quick pace as we headed through the dark hallways. We were in the basement as far as we could tell. The eerie hallway was ominous and disturbing. The pain that ached my body was a constant reminder with every step I took; but all I could do is shake it off.

Jason never left my side; as we went through the hallways, I could feel him close to me. Every once in a while he would brush my hip to his; I could feel his worried side glances he casted at me. But, I kept my gaze ahead, determined and strong.

It wasn't too long after, we started to hear the clatter of battle up ahead. Without discussion, we headed in that direction. We came into a mid-sized clearing. The walls were bland and unpainted with pipes and insulator sticking out. I squinted my eyes to get a better look. Ahead Percy was exhaustedly dodging a girl with a black cloak who was wildly swinging axes. She had long blond hair that was pulled back in a pony tail with dull green eyes. She moved like a freaking god; she swung wildly at Percy who was obviously utterly exhausted from fighting and she wasn't tired. Frank who was shifted into a wolf was stalking and snapping at the girl.

Leo jumped right into the fight. He pulled a screwdriver from his belt and took the girl's attention away from Percy. He threw a fireball in her way of Percy blocking her path to him. Percy collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily with sweat dripping down his face. I then turned towards Jason.

Jason looked to me, as if asking for permission to go.

"They need your help. Go." I told him softly, trying not to strain my voice. Jason gave me a small smile, and then did the unexpected. He took a step forward with his free hand he brushed the hair off of my face. He then gave me a soft, feathery kiss on my forehead. It was so small, yet so loving and beautiful. He pulled something from his pocket and using both of his hands, he wrapped my hands around it. Once he let go, I looked at it. _Katoptris._ I thought. My breath hitched as I looked up at him. His golden locks were glowing in the dim lights, his eyes shining brilliantly.

I didn't want him to leave, but he had to. With all my strength, I took a step back. He hesitated to leave, but it only lasted a moment; he turned and ran into the midst of battle.

It was taking all 4 guys to take this girl down. None of them could get close without almost getting their head chopped off. Percy barely conscious against the wall; he must have been holding her off for a while; he was pale with beads of sweat rolling down his brow. Frank was still shifted to a wolf, snapping at the girl, but trying not to close in fear of getting his head chopped off. Jason, who had just entered battle, was swiftly engaging in direct combat with the girl. Quiet ballsy on his part. I didn't see Annabeth of Hazel; they must not have found them yet...

I breathed a heavy sigh. I, on the other hand, was standing at the edge of the large clearing. Suddenly, I got a tingling feeling in the back of my neck. Someone else was here. Behind me was the dark corridor at which we had come. The pitch black darkness enveloped it, so it was impossible to see through. I don't remember it being that dark.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see anything. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move, but there were only shadows, how can they move? I turned toward the hallway. That's when everything went to hell.

Dark threads that blended in with the darkness struck out towards me. I jumped back, but I didn't move fast enough. They caught me around my shoulders, ankles, and mouth. I tried calling out, but it came out muffled. I yelled for someone, anyone, but I was pulled into the darkness.

* * *

**Percy POV**

Frank sniffed ahead of me; he was right on the trail of where Annabeth was when this cloaked figure attacked. I told him to go ahead of me to make sure Annabeth was okay. Bad move on my part. This girl just never stopped. I was dodging like crazy, hoping that my head didn't get chopped off. Frank had gone into a room not far down the hall. I tried to glance towards the room, but nearly died. Luckily, Leo found Jason and Piper, and then found us. Leo jumped into battle right away, taking the attention away from me to him. Immediately, I fell against the wall, trying to catch my breath. I lie there relaxing for a minute.

Jason lunged at the girl; throwing quick, swift jabs at her. She sloppily dodged his lunge, throwing herself off balance. Frank took the chance to tackle her. She fell to the ground; her axes got knocked to the side, Frank on top of her, growling furiously. Jason secured the axes away from her. She raised her arms in defeat. Leo pulled some rope from his belt and tied her to a beam.

Jason laughed softly at something Leo said, and then turned looking behind him. He yelled something. I pulled myself up and walked over to them.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Piper! Where's Piper?!" He yelled. "S-she was right there." He started to walk in the direction in which he came, but the girl tied to the beam started to laugh maniacally causing him to stop dead in his tracks.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" I said quickly.

She continued to laugh. "She's dead by now." She laughed louder. Jason, who was facing the other way, turned his head towards her. I could see the anger flaring in his eyes. In one swift move, he got in her face, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, and let out a low growl that screamed of anger. Leo put a hand on his shoulder. He dropped the girl and took a deep breath.

"I'm going after her." He said quickly turning away again, trying to mask his anger and concern.

"You can't go alone. That's how we got into this mess." Leo added.

"I'll go with you." I told him. Jason looked to me with a questioning look. I pulled Riptide and uncapped him. Readying for battle.

"But, what about Annabeth?" Frank asked.

He was referring to Annabeth and Hazel were both now free, but resting in a nearby room. I hadn't seen Annabeth yet and it hurt me that I hadn't.

"I know how it important it is to you to get Piper back. You guys need to stay here and watch her." I motioned to the girl tied to the beam. Frank and Leo nodded. I then turned to Jason who was already looking worriedly towards a dark hallway at the other end of the clearing.

"Alright, let's go." I told him. I didn't need to tell him though. He was already heading in the direction of the hallway. I'm guessing, where he saw Piper last. He was sprinting down the hall; faster than I could keep up to. "Hey, Jase; slow down!" He slowed to a run. I was still exhausted from fighting, but the adrenaline rush kept me going; I didn't know for how long though.

We kept heading down the hall; it felt like forever because I was completely out of breath. The hallway was completely ghostly silent other than our heavy breaths when suddenly there was a stifled scream ahead. I looked at Jason; he had a determined look on his face as he picked up his pace. I sucked in a breath and tried to keep up.

All of a sudden, Jason came to an abrupt stop. "What is it—?" I followed his gaze; the hall was nearly pitch black other than the dim light that hung behind us. I narrowed my eyes to make sure I was seeing this right. Piper was hanging in the air with the shadows wrapped around her shoulders and mouth.

"Piper!" Jason yelled. She thrashed against the shadows and yelled something, but it was muffled. He took a step towards her, but Piper cried out in pain which made Jason stop in his tracks. He cursed.

"Show yourself! Stop hiding in the shadows!" He yelled. Like he asked, a cloaked figure stepped forward. Their hands were extended with their fingers out like a puppeteer. So she controlled the shadows. She pulled the hood of her cloak down revealing short choppy blond hair. Why did she look so familiar? I watched her carefully. Her eyes charcoal black that were strong and vengeful. She turned to me; her eyes blazed.

"You!" Her voice fuming and intense. "Drop your weapon and Kneel to me!"

_What? _I thought.

"Not until you let her go!" Jason shouted. In response, she laughed.

"Kneel, or she will die." She lifted her hand slowly closing it into a fist; as she did, Piper bellowed in pain.

"Stop!" I yelled. Jason turned to me. I slowly lowered to my knees, my arms up innocently. I then set Riptide down, and kneeled. This hurt my pride more than anything I've ever done. A shadow struck out and snaked around Riptide, then returned into the darkness leaving me defenseless.

"You too!" She yelled eyeing Jason. He quickly follow suit. Once Jason was kneeling on the ground, she immediately dropped Piper. She fell hard onto the ground. Jason flinched as if it hurt him. He then started to get up and reach for her. In an instant, a shadow shot out and stopped not an inch from his face. He stopped.

"Don't. move." She said in a chilling voice. Shadows slithered from the shadows around her and headed towards us as if threatening us.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I asked firmly.

"Who am i?" She asked laughing.

"Umm.. yea, that's what I asked." I said sarcastically. Her face hardened.

"Men." She spat. "You don't remember. I'd expect no less."

Don't remember?

"You ruined my life! We finally had a second chance at life; and you ruined it!" Now she was mad. She raised her hand and the shadows struck out at us. Before I could react, they snaked around my throat, cutting off my air. I tugged at the shadows, but they stretched and bent, never breaking. Panic rose as I tried to breathe, but no air came. I could feel my life slowly slipping away. I saw flashes of my life flash before my eyes. Annabeth, rolling her stormy grey eyes, kissing me because I did something stupid. The sweet sound of her voice calling me 'Seaweed Brain.' I could feel it all slipping away..

Suddenly, air came rushing back. I dropped onto the floor in a heap, clutching my throat, coughing, and taking quick, heavy breaths. Air burned my lungs as gulped it in. I lied there, enjoying the miracle of breathing for a moment. I turned onto my side. Jason was on his hands and knees, using one hand to clutch his throat as he tried to breathe. He then looked up; his eyes widened in shock. I followed his gaze.

Piper was standing above the girl with her knife, Katoptris, in hand. She dropped her knife and looked to her hands that were shaking violently. I noticed blood dripping from them and splattered on her clothes. She then swayed and fell onto the ground. Jason shot up and ran towards her, kneeling at her side. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her in his arms.

I pulled myself up and headed towards them. The girl in the cloak was lying on the ground, holding her side and moaning in pain. I took a good look at her face; I recognized her from somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. It was on the tip of my tongue..

Unexpectedly, the ground shook. I looked to Jason, who was holding Piper, protecting her. I fell to the side, using the wall as an anchor.

"Jason! What the hell is going on?!" I called to him. He held Piper close, turning to me.

"I don't know!" he yelled. The floor behind us split in two. We both turned in dismay as the tremors eased. Risen from the ground was none only, but Hades himself.

"Hades?" I asked.

"Pluto? Erm.." Jason asked still holding Piper.

The god of death held his head with his hands, "Please, you're giving me a splitting headache…"


	12. Chapter 12

**Jason POV**

We were in a dark hallway that smelled of mold and rat feces. Meliana lay a few feet away from me, clutching her side, blood oozed from her side and through her fingers. I turned back to Piper; she passed out in my arms; her body pale and drained. The earth shook, so much that I thought the walls would cave down on us, but Plut-erm.. Hades rose from the ground as the shaking ceased.

"What are you doing here?" Percy asked curiously.

The god of death just doesn't just pop in and visit us just to say hi, none of the gods do.

"Getting the job done right. This one," he motioned to Meliana, "has eluded me since my first lieutenant, Thanatos, was imprisoned."

"She escaped from death?" Percy offered. The god of death nodded to him. He cleared his throat then continued.

"Since none of my men have been able to capture them, I have come to do it myself." He lifted his hand, the ground shook again. I held Piper close to my chest, the foundation started to give way; bits of the ceiling came crumbling down. When I looked up, two ghosts were picking up Meliana, bringing her to Hades. He motioned to the ground, they took her through the cracks of the floor; I'm guessing to the Underworld. He then left us with a friend piece of advice; "I'd leave now before the building collapses on you." He then disappeared into the ground. The ground started to shake again. The ceiling started to fall onto us. Percy dodged a rock by a centimeter.

The loud roar of rocks falling made it hard to hear. "We need to find a way out!" Percy yelled over to me. I nodded, picking Pipes up into my arms. Her head rested just below my ear; I could hear her slow, shallow breaths that tickled my neck. Percy sent an uneasy glance towards the way we came.

"Don't worry, they've probably gotten out by now." I called to him reassuringly. He turned back to me and nodded. We started towards the end of the hall.

It was almost impossible to run. It being nearly pitch black because the only lights had fallen and/or broke; the ground shook, throwing us off balance, which caused the ceiling to start giving way; bits of the ceiling fell onto us as we ran. At the end of the hall, we quickly headed up a set of stairs. At the end of the 2 sets of stairs was a faded, green glow, as we neared I realized it was an Exit sign. A bit of hope rose within me. Finally, I can get Piper out of here. The building was quaking and falling to pieces quick, so we had to get out quick or we'd go down with the building.

Percy picked up his speed and ran for the door. He came to an abrupt stop when the door didn't budge.

"Damn it!" He pushed it again. "It's locked from the outside." He cursed. He rammed his shoulder into it, but it didn't move. He shook it angrily. "No!" He yelled. He started to bang on the door.

"Percy, Calm down! We'll find another way out." I told him as calmly as I could. But on the inside. I was freaking out. We didn't have time to find another exit. The walls were crumbling down, the foundation getting weaker and weaker by the second.

"I'm going to ask you the impossible, Jason." I waited. "We don't have any chance of breaking this door down unless we both put our weight into it." He was asking me to put Piper down. With all the falling rocks, she could easily get hurt or crushed. I hugged her tight, not wanting to let go. Her head was hanging limply and her face pale and bruised. I missed her bright kaleidoscope eyes that made my heart stop and took my breath away. "I can't do this alone," Percy added.

But deep down, I knew that if I did let go there was a chance we could all get out of here. I hesitated for a second, but the ground shook firmly reminding me of our limited time. I laid her gently next to the wall; I then nodded at Percy. We took a few steps back.

"Ready? On 3. 1,2,3!" Percy yelled quickly. The floor quaked and a large chunk of the ceiling fell behind us. There was no going back. We sprinted towards the door, putting all of our determination and strength into one last push. One last push to freedom. Adrenaline rushed through me, keeping me going as we neared the door. At the last moment, I closed my eyes waiting for the impact.

* * *

**Annabeth POV**

Good news: One girl was captured. Soon after we captured her, she disappeared. I mean literally, one minute she was tied to the beam, the next _POOF! _And she was gone, which I couldn't decide if that was good or not; Bad news: Percy and Jason went after the other known girl who had taken Piper. Now they were who knows where and the building was crumbling to pieces.

"We have to find them!" I yelled.

We were outside in front of the crumbling building. Warm colors of the sun rise painted the sky. We had been here all night. Frank had carried Hazel out of the building. She was now conscious, but barely. Leo on the other hand had to drag me out of there. For a tiny kid, he had a tight grip. "So what? We're just going to leave them?" They ignored me. I glared at the back of Leo's head since he refused to look at me. "Especially you! Jason and Piper are your friends!" I yelled furiously.

"You think I don't know that?!" He finally turned to me. His face was red and angry; I could feel the heat radiating from him. "I want to go back just as much as you do, but we need to trust they got out of their alive."

Suddenly, Hazel stirred. Frank was still holding her wedding style. We both looked to her. She turned her head towards Frank and mumbled something in his ear. He nodded then set her on her feet gently. She leaned on him for support; she must still not be completely awake.

"Dead…" She mumbled.

"Dead?" Leo asked.

She mumbled something intelligible, but Frank must have heard it. His eyes widened in horror.

"Frank? F-Frank what'd she say?" I stammered.

He looked away, his face pale.

"Frank!" Leo demanded.

"S-She said she sensed death." He choked out. "Someone's died recently.."


	13. Chapter 13

**Jason POV**

I must have blacked out because I woke up lying on the warm, concrete. I was blinded by the morning sun peaking over the buildings. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times to adjust to the new light. _Where was I? What happened? _I tried to get up, but pain shot up my arm. I realized it was my shoulder. Shifting to my other arm, I looked around. To my left was Percy who was lying on his side on the ground, groaning in pain. We were in an alley; behind me was a rusty, green dumpster with trash scattered all around.

Suddenly, in the corner of my eye, a figure shifted. My heart stopped in realization. _Piper. _I jumped up, ignoring the exhaustion of my muscles and body. I crossed the space between us in one quick step. She was on her hands and knees, trying to force herself up. I put a hand on her back; she jumped back at my touch when she looked up and saw me she relaxed. Her choppy hair hung in face; I gently pushed her hair behind her ear. The color was returning to her face; small bruises were forming on her forehead and chin; her eyes were sad, but relieved. I pulled her into my arms, holding her tight.

It was over. We were safe and it was all over. We only had to find the others.

* * *

**Percy POV**

I thought I was tired when I stayed up all night. I thought I was fatigued after dodging double axes. I really thought I was exhausted when the shadowy girl nearly choked me to death. But now I was utterly pooped from probably dislocating my shoulder from breaking the door down. I didn't even have the energy to hold myself up. I lied on the ground just taking a little siesta when I heard some commotion.

I didn't bother to look up until I felt someone squeezing the life out of me.

"C-Can't—breath.." I gasped; the person let go, but I could feel their presence close by. I lifted myself up slowly, but my arms shook with exhaustion; they help me up, letting me use their arms as anchors. I looked up slowly, my hair draping gently onto my face. The familiar grey eyes were glassy with tears that threatened to flow, but relaxed some when they met mine; beautiful blond curly hair lay perfectly on her shoulder. "Annabeth.." I breathed softly. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She threw herself in my arms; I hugged her tight.

"Gods, I was so scared that I lost you." She cried into my ear; she dug her face into my neck.

"Shhhh.. It's okay." I reassured her.

"Gods seaweed brain, Hazel said she smelled death so I thought the worst." She pulled away and looked me in the eyes.

I nodded to her. "That makes sense. Hades came to visit us." Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hades?!" I recapped the story to her.

"It all makes sense now. We should talk about it with the others once we get back to the house." She nodded.

We quickly regrouped with the others that were searching around the building for us. Leo had a little family reunion with Piper and Jason since they made it out in one piece. None of us had money so I decided to call an old friend for a ride home. I whistled into the sky and not too long later our rides came.

"_Yo boss, how's it hanging?" _

"Blackjack, ya mind giving my friends and me a ride back to our house?" I asked him.

"_Anything for you boss!" _

Blackjack called some friends and we all climbed on. Hazel couldn't believe I knew a bunch of Pegasus; I didn't think it was that impressive, but apparently she loved horses. I found it weird since Pegasus usually doesn't like children of Hades/Pluto. We flew into the sky towards the beach house; no one bothered 7 teenagers riding on Pegasus in the sky.

It seemed almost afternoon; the sun was almost at its peak in the sky and its warmth was radiating from it making it humid and hot. The fresh wind blowing in my hair felt amazing as we flew, but we landed at the beach house not too long later. Blackjack landed in the front yard along with the others.

"Thanks again, Blackjack. Remind me I owe you a dozen donuts when I get back to camp."

"Donuts?" Leo questioned. I shrugged.

With that he soared into the sky with the other Pegasus. I limped into the house with Annabeth at my side. We decided to all part ways until morning, well tomorrow morning. It was early afternoon, but everyone was beat. I didn't even have to say anything to Annabeth. I held her hand as she guided me back to my room. Jason didn't want to leave Piper alone after everything that's happened plus he needed to sort things out with her, so he stayed in her room, which left us alone.

Annabeth led me to my bed before telling me she was going to change her clothes. She started to get up and walk away, but I grabbed her hand reluctantly. She gave me a small reassuring smile before pulling away. I dropped my hand as I watched her go, closing the door behind her. I dug my hands in my hair, frustrated with myself and the stupid fight. We could never get a break from the chaos; I wondered if we would ever be able to settle down and have kids like I saw at New Rome.

I let out a long sigh. I still needed to change. My black v-neck I was wearing was tattered and stained with dried blood. My shoulder was stiff from knocking the door down and my muscles were heavy with exhaustion. Out of my bag, I dug out some ambrosia and took a little bite of it. Instantly, I felt warmth spread through me; I rolled my shoulder, the pain started to fade.

I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it aside. I then shimmied out of my dirty shorts and changed into basketball shorts. I heard someone stir to my left. Leaning against the doorframe was Annabeth. I turned that way.

I started towards her. "Hold on." I stopped. I watched her eyes travel down my chest. I rose an eyebrow. Was she checking me out? I couldn't help but laugh.

"Shut up and get over here, seaweed brain." I smiled as I walked over to her; she looped her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a kiss. While she was distracted by my amazing kisses, I scooped her up. She yelped in surprise; before she could argue I wistfully carried her to the bed and lied her down. I then jumped into bed and lied next to her.

For the next few hours, we talked, we laughed, we kissed, and we _lived_ before settling into each other's arms and falling into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**A/N: I very much appreciate the reviews. **

**Sarena Akhter- you crack me up and made my day with your review. Thank you so much for being awesome!**

**Laura3pjghphoO- haha schist..**

**You dig this story? Check out my hot off the press _In a New York Minute. _**

**_ s/9380641/1/In-a-New-York-Minute_**


	14. Chapter 14

"Her name was Meliana…" Jason started. He looked around at his group of friends. Some of their eyes were on him, some wouldn't look. Percy had his good arm around Annabeth, keeping her close (for good reason). Hazel was leaning on Frank with a sad look in her eyes. And Leo? He was just sitting there being awesome and trying to add some joy to the group. But Jason changed to a more serious note. "From what we saw, she controlled the shadows around her and was stronger in the dark."

"What kind of power is that? She looked human so what was she? A god? Demi-god?" Frank questioned.

"When we confronted her she talked like only one type of girls I've ever encountered…" Percy paused. "Amazons.."

"Amazons? Why would they come after us?" Leo asked.

"Oh my god.. It makes sense. On our quest to Alaska, we ran into some Amazons; some were friendly to us, the ones loyal to Queen Hylla, but some, the ones loyal to Otera, not so much." Hazel realized. Frank made an O with his mouth as he realized.

They others recalled the fuzzy story of the quest they were told long ago. The details were even fuzzy to Percy, Hazel, and Frank.

"I don't remember ever seeing them though, so why'd they have bad blood with us?" Frank continued.

"Meliana.. Meliana.." Annabeth mumbled to herself until the light bulb flashed above her head. "Oh! I remember now, a really old Amazon tale. Otera was once a Queen of the Amazons, right? A long time ago." Hazel nodded. "She had a lieutenant, anyone guess who that was?"

"Meliana…" Jason whispered. "She must have come back from the dead along with Otera. That explains the visit from Pluto.. erm Hades."

"Jason, remember she kept going on about how she finally had a second chance and I ruined it?" Percy recollected.

Annabeth paused to think, trying to recall the tale. "She was the daughter of…" she paused again trying to recall. Then she froze in realization. Percy felt her stiffen; he looked to her.

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth dug her hands in her curly blond hair. "She was a daughter of Erebos or Erebus his Roman affiliation, son of Chaos and god of Darkness. A child of Erebos is extremely rare, far more than the Big three."

"Great, we would pick a fight with probably one of the strongest demi-gods in history." Leo added humorously.

"They were extremely clever too. They were able to see our strong suits and take them away from us, leaving us vulnerable." Annabeth thought aloud.

"When we helped Hylla defeat Otera, she must have blamed us." Hazel guessed.

"But we didn't even do anything; Hylla was the one who killed Otera, so why'd she go after us?" Frank asked

"Hylla is nearly untouchable with an army of Amazons behind her. She could challenge her to a dual, but if she knew she couldn't win in a sword fight then she wouldn't take the chance. So she took her anger out on someone she could defeat, or thought she could defeat." Annabeth presumed.

"So she went after us." Jason added. He squeezed Pipers hand and looked to her. She wouldn't look up. Jason's heart clenched at the bruises on her face and the red marks on her wrist. She was so strong and she was trying so hard not to show that she was shaken up by all of this. Many of the others came out well too. Percy had a dislocated shoulder which was better after drinking some nectar; Jason himself was just sore with the same red marks on his wrists from the ropes. The others only had minor scrapes and bruises from the fighting, but overall everyone was okay.

Though all was revealed none of the demi-gods felt better. The damage was done and the scars would always remain.

Leo, forever the optimist, jumped up cheering, "Oh come on guys! One crappy night shouldn't get us down! We still have another week in this beach house thanks to Pipes so let's enjoy it, but this time let's avoid evil amazons trying to kill us…"

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**A/N: ****Hey guys! Sorry for the short chapter but it leads into a whole other set of adventures! (maybe..) What'd you think? Where you expecting that? Lemme know your thoughts! I love hearing from you guys! **


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